Udine names co-pro projects

Udine’s Far East Film Festival has named the 13 genre film projects from 13 different countries (Spain, Indonesia, Japan, France, Taiwan, Italy, Brasil, Laos, Singapore, Finland, Serbia, United Kingdom, Lithuania) to be presented at the second edition of FOCUS ASIA, the festival’s co-production film market.

Last year Focus Asia presented completed genre films. This year it becomes a fully fledged project market. The 13 titles, chosen from 72 applications, were selected by a committee including representatives from established genre film events Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Black Nights Film Festival, Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival plus the Nordisk Film & Fond’s Nordic Genre Boost. Among the decision makers, financiers and sales agents confirmed are XYZ (The Dead Lands, 6 Days) and several genre-focused distributors recently exhibiting at Hong Kong’s Filmart, including France’s Reel Suspects and Wild Bunch, Germany’s M-Appeal, Hong Kong’s Media Asia, and Korea’s M-Line and Showbox.

Among the filmmakers selected is Laotian director Mattie Do (pictured, top), whose Dearest Sister premiered at Fantastic Fest last year before a strong run on the genre festival circuit. Arguably Asia’s premier female horror filmmaker, Do takes project The Long Walk to Udine.